1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal hygiene appliance which functions as a hand extension. More particularly, it relates to a hand-held appliance for use when cleaning the perineal area. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a hand-held appliance formed for grasping a disposable cleaning tissue, such as toilet paper, and facilitating extension of the tissue by the appliance to the perineal area of the body.
2. Background of the Invention
One of the indignities which a person can experience is the inability to cleanse oneself in the perineal area as a result of an unanticipated or uncorrectable condition such as arthritis, physical impairment, overweight, short arms, injury to the back, and other developments which prevent a person from effectively reaching the perineal area with either hand. When it is not possible to properly cleanse oneself after defecating or urinating, personal hygiene suffers. Sometimes a second person, such as a family member or a hired caregiver, is required to do the cleaning. Either situation is unpleasant for the parties concerned, and is humiliating for the person who requires assisted cleaning. An appliance is needed to solve the problems involved which allows a person to reach and clean the perineal area of the body after waste elimination.
The few devices available for the purpose of assisting a person in personal cleansing at the toilet are difficult to manipulate and generally are not adapted to the body contours in the perineal area. Known devices are essentially provided for the purpose of grasping a wad of toilet paper. Uniformly, the handles of these devices position the hand in an orientation that is incompatible with the hand orientation normally required to clean the perineal area. The required positioning of the hand to manipulate such a device is awkward, hard to learn or perform, and does not benefit from the motor skills and habits developed during the earlier years of one's learning experience. Generally, a clump of toilet paper is held by a device, but it is not optimal for personal cleaning of the perineal area of the body. As a result, more time and effort and frustration must be expended by a person in the cleaning process. In addition to the extra time spent on preparing the toilet paper for securement onto the device, it can be difficult and messy removing soiled toilet paper from the device. Usually, in order for the device to operate effectively and be comfortable, more toilet paper is used than when using a hand. This increases cost and places additional demands on plumbing and on the sewage treatment or septic tank environment due to the extra toilet paper required.
A disadvantage of conventional toilet paper for some persons and conditions is that it is not as efficient in those cases for cleaning the perineal area as is a premoistened cloth or towelette. Premoisturized tissues or wipes, marketed commercially as "Wash 'n Dri, Nice 'n Clean, Chubs, Softkins, Pop-Ups, Scott Fresh, and Cottonelle Flusbable Moist Wipes, are considered by some persons to be more efficient for cleaning the perineal area, and they could be used in conjunction with the devices previously described. However, the wipes cannot be held in a manner that is optimal for cleaning since they usually come in small individual sheets. A long strip of toilet paper is normally wrapped around a tongs or clamp to provide bulk and cushioning from the hard tip of either device, but individual premoistened sheets cannot be used in this manner.
In order to solve these problems, a hand extension is required which is universal and can grip and comfortably apply either a single sheet of premoisturized material or several sheets of conventional toilet paper to the perineal area for cleaning after elimination. The premoistened wipe or toilet paper is temporarily secured by a cleaning head on a hand extension for the purpose of cleaning the perineal area by people who have limited reach, hand strength, or range of motion. The extension at one end accommodates the hand in a natural position consistent with cleaning the perineal area, and at the opposite end incorporates a cleaning head consisting of a formed flexible structure that grips a single sheet of premoistened material or several sheets of conventional toilet paper and brings this material into comfortable and effective contact with the area being cleaned and which permits simple and clean extraction of the soiled tissue or wipe from the device without the possibility or need of contacting the soiled portion of the tissue or wipe.
In summary, the present invention relates to a hand extension consisting of a curved handle with a hand grip at one end and a flexible structure, or cleaning head, at the opposite end for temporarily securing toilet paper or a premoisturized sheet of disposable and preferably flushable material. The present invention will aid people having limited range of motion or reach due to disability, back injury, age, body size, and other conditions which hinder or prevent a person from reaching and cleaning the perineal area after defecation or urination.